The World Health Organisation on Friday confirmed that
the epidemic of haemorrhagic fever in northeastern
DRC is not due to the Ebola virus, but could be caused
by the related Marburg virus. One of five samples analysed
in South Africa tested positive for Marburg virus,
the other four were negative. Revised figures from
the WHO say there are an estimated 76 cases of haemorrhagic
fever in the Watsa area, with 52 deaths, and investigations
will be initiated to establish whether the Marburg
virus is responsible. More medical experts were expected
in the area within the next few days, WHO said. It
pointed out that the virus was transmitted to humans
following contact with infected animals and animal
tissues, and from person-to-person contact via infected
patients and body fluids.

Kabila working on "action programme"

DRC Information Minister Didier Mumengi has said the
two-year transition period envisaged by President Laurent-Desire
Kabila after he came to power in May 1997 was not a
deadline as such. "The two years of transition
that the president of the republic imposed on himself
rather constitutes a programme of action," he
said over state television on Thursday. This programme
included a series of rehabilitation projects "with
the restoration of the republic as a priority".
He said the proposed national debate marked a major
phase in the "democratic running of our nation".

List of national debate participants remains unchanged

Meanwhile, the vice-president of the national debate
organising committee, Delphin Banza Hangakolwa, has
said the official list of participants will not be
revised. According to the Agence congolaise de presse
(ACP), he said the list was representative of Congolese
society.

Kenyan foreign minister delivers message from Moi

Kenyan Foreign Minister Bonaya Godana visited Kinshasa
on Thursday to deliver a "special message"
from President Daniel arap Moi to President Kabila.
A foreign ministry spokesman in Nairobi told IRIN on
Friday the message was confidential but related to
efforts aimed at achieving peace in DRC.

Godana told reporters in Kinshasa that Kenya was seeking
a broad range of participants for the national debate,
due to take place in Nairobi. "We are holding
the necessary consultations and contacts with all the
groups that are needed at the debate. We want a very
wide participation, the participation of all the legitimate
stakeholders," Godana said, according to DRC
television. He added that a date for the Nairobi meeting
would be announced soon. DRC Foreign Minister Abdoulaye
Yerodia said this week it could be around 14 May, Reuters
reported.

RWANDA: Kagame meets South African deputy president

In a separate round of diplomacy, South African Deputy
President Thabo Mbeki met Rwandan Vice President Paul
Kagame in Pretoria on Thursday. A spokesman for Mbeki
told IRIN the talks were "in the context of ongoing
behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to resolve the
conflict in the DRC". He said South Africa supported
the initiatives of the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) and the OAU. The Johannesburg 'Business
Day' paper on Thursday commented that Mbeki was taking
"centre stage" in a new diplomatic effort
for the DRC. It cited diplomatic sources as saying
South Africa was under increasing international pressure
to take a more active role in seeking an end to the
war.

Uganda denies rift with Rwanda

The Ugandan government meanwhile denied reports of a
rift with Rwanda over military operations in DRC, the
Ugandan semi-official 'New Vision' daily reported on
Friday. A foreign ministry statement stressed the recent
meeting in Tanzania between the presidents of the two
countries came within the framework of the Lusaka peace
process and was a "follow-up" to the meeting
in Sirte, Libya. The statement took issue with "misleading"
reports in Ugandan newspapers which "reduced the
purpose of the mini-summit to an attempt by [Tanzanian]
President Benjamin Mkapa to resolve a rift between
Uganda and Rwanda". Libyan television said Rwandan
President Pasteur Bizimungu had held talks in Kigali
with a Libyan envoy who brought him a message from
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

BURUNDI: Human rights group concerned over growing insecurity

The Burundian human rights organisation, Iteka, has
expressed concern over growing insecurity in southern
and eastern parts of Burundi. It said very often civilians
were caught up in the clashes between rebels and the
army, particularly in Bujumbura rural, in the southern
province of Makamba and the eastern province of Ruyigi.
Fighting since January this year had left 2,045 households
displaced in parts of Makamba, while in Ruyigi, 6,000
displaced people had gathered in the areas of Giharo
and Nyabitsinda. Iteka said the rebellion, which had
moved from bases in DRC to Tanzania, was "intensively
recruiting" young men into its ranks. It quoted
local officials as saying the Kigoma authorities in
Tanzania had refused to hold talks with their counterparts
in Makamba. Iteka reiterated its call for a ceasefire
in the Burundi fighting and urged participants in the
Arusha peace process to "show proof" of their
desire for a peaceful solution to the country's problems.

UGANDA: Task force to monitor haemorrhagic fever

The Ugandan health ministry has set up a national task
force to monitor the possible spread of the haemorrhagic
fever from northeastern DRC, the semi-official 'New
Vision' reported on Thursday. "The ministry of
health has reviewed the situation and an alert has
been sent to all districts neighbouring the DRC and
southern Sudan," said Francis Omaswa, the director-general
of health services.

Kampala blasts leave one dead, eight injured

Bomb blasts at separate market places left one person
dead and eight others injured, press reports said.
The first bomb went off at Kampala's Owino market on
Thursday night only to be followed by another in Nateete
market in the suburbs of the capital early on Friday.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the blasts. A
defence ministry source told IRIN: "These are
cowardly acts". He said a recent string of bomb
explosions in the country had caused "temporary
fear" among citizens, but "eventually they
gain courage and continue with their lives". The
government was working to train citizens to cope with
such terrorist attacks, he added.

On Wednesday, a little-known group, the Uganda Salvage
[sic] Front/Army, left leaflets at the site of another
explosion in Busia, in eastern Uganda, the 'New Vision'
said. Analysts say even if the perpetrators of such
terrorist attacks were arrested in Uganda today, "it
would be very difficult to pin them down". "The
law of the country is not explicit on terrorism,"
one analyst told IRIN.

Acholi MPs back amnesty bill

Meanwhile, the Acholi parliamentary group has backed
a government-initiated amnesty bill and peace process
for northern Uganda, the 'New Vision' reported. "The
legislators have been persistently and consistently
yearning for peace. They are genuinely anxious to see
the war come to an end," a media source told IRIN
on Friday. The group secretary, Reagan Okumu, was
quoted by the newspaper as saying the legislators had
drawn up a programme to educate the Acholi on the bill,
the peace processes so far undertaken and the motions
on peace discussed in parliament. He said the group
backs the government on seeking a peaceful end to the
13-year-old conflict in the north. "Despite our
differences, we will continue working for peace in
Acholi," he said.

IMF team expected in Uganda to review withheld funds

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is due
in Uganda next week to review the government's progress
in balancing its budget to determine whether it gets
more aid from the institution. "The mission will
review the progress made and look at the budget for
next year," an IMF source in Kampala told IRIN
on Friday. He said the institution withheld US $18
million tranche of the Enhanced Structural Adjustment
Facility (ESAF)- worth a total US $140 million - in
March until the government addressed certain issues.
"Delays in privatisation, rising expenditure on
defence are among issues it has to address," he
said, adding he was "confident" the outcome
of the meeting would be positive. Meanwhile, the World
Bank has approved two credits totalling US $48.38 million
to Uganda.